


Quid pro quo

by Nary



Category: Rome (TV 2005)
Genre: Awkwardness, Drunk Sex, F/M, Frottage, Historical Accuracy, Historical Inaccuracy, Intercrural Sex, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Marriage, Military, Power Imbalance, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 15:22:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13010601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nary/pseuds/Nary
Summary: "What brings you here, Legionary Lucius Vorenus?"  The legate's grin was sardonic, even playful.Vorenus stood up taller, taking a deep breath.  "Sir, I heard you can get a special dispensation that allows a soldier to marry, sir."Anthony raised an eyebrow at that.  "First of all," he said, "this conversation is going to take twice as long if you insist on calling me sir twice in every sentence.  Once is perfectly adequate.  And second of all, why in the name of Dis would you want to get married?"





	Quid pro quo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rainedparade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainedparade/gifts).



It wasn't normally permitted for soldiers in the Roman army to marry. It required a special dispensation from one's commanding officer, which was difficult to obtain. Although that didn't stop many of the men from taking "wives" from among the natives of wherever they were stationed. Some of them even brought them home with them afterwards, although plenty didn't. Lucius Vorenus considered such behaviour distasteful. At best it was misleading - at worst, no better than prostitution. The children of such unions would be illegitimate, the women unable to inherit in the event their "husbands" were killed. 

Then, of course, as he had unfortunately become aware, there were the soldiers who kept company with their fellow men - even more shameful. It made Vorenus feel uncomfortable to think about such matters, although he couldn't help overhearing them at night sometimes and wondering what they were doing together... 

Certainly _his_ marriage would be a righteous, sacred, and entirely proper bond with a young woman of a respectable family - should it be permitted. That was the catch. He had expected to have to speak to his superior officer, of course, and then perhaps the issue would move further up the chain of command. He wasn't entirely sure of the proper procedure, to be honest. But he'd heard it was possible, if unlikely, and so he needed to try. He owed it to Niobe to make an honest woman of her. So he waited in the heat outside the tent of his centurion, and tried to think of any good reason at all why he should be granted what so many others were denied. 

"Enter," a voice from inside called at last, when it was nearly evening and the air was heavy with the buzz of insects and the sound of soldiers having their dinner. Vorenus drew himself up and strode into the tent with a confidence he didn't feel. 

The man seated inside wasn't his centurion. Instead he was young, probably only a few years older than Vorenus's own age, handsome in a lazy sort of way. He had an air of privilege and authority about him, but he wore it lightly. In other circumstances, he looked like the sort of fellow who'd be fun to have a few drinks with. Under the current ones, however, Vorenus was confused and more than a little bit worried. 

"You were probably expecting Publius Urvinus, weren't you?" 

"I was, sir," Vorenus said, guessing he ought to assume this man outranked him.

"Too bad, you're stuck with me instead," the officer said with a grin. "Legate Marcus Antonius, newly arrived from Syria."

A legate? Vorenus swallowed hard. There was no way that someone so high-ranking should be speaking to him, a lowly legionary of less than a year's service. "Ah, sir, Legionary Lucius Vorenus, sir," he stammered, saluting.

"What brings you here, Legionary Lucius Vorenus?" The legate's grin was sardonic, even playful. 

Vorenus stood up taller, taking a deep breath. "Sir, I heard you can get a special dispensation that allows a soldier to marry, sir."

Anthony raised an eyebrow at that. "First of all," he said, "this conversation is going to take twice as long if you insist on calling me sir twice in every sentence. Once is perfectly adequate. And second of all, why in the name of Dis would you want to get married? How old are you?"

"Eighteen, sir," Vorenus said, doing his best to look extremely mature and dignified for his years.

"Well, that explains part of it," Anthony replied with a shrug. "Why can't you just fuck the girl and be done with it?"

"Sir, her father says she can't be with me unless we get married. Properly, not a camp marriage."

Anthony gave him a dubious look. "You do know that means he's telling you to bugger off, right? If he's got half a brain in his head, he knows Roman soldiers can't marry. It's a polite way of getting rid of you."

"Yes sir," Vorenus said, keeping his chin up. "I know that, sir."

With a laugh, Anthony got up and circled around the table he'd been sitting at. "Stubborn bastard, eh? I'll give you that, at least. Still, I can't just wave my hand and grant you permission to marry this girl. Give a dispensation to you, and every soldier in the legion will come asking for one. Word will get around that I'm a soft touch, and we can't have that."

Vorenus wasn't sure how to reply to that. "Yes, sir," he settled for saying. Agreeing seemed safest. 

"What's her name?" Anthony asked, idly curious.

"Niobe, the older daughter of Demas the vintner."

"Greeks?" Anthony shrugged. "Well, nothing against Greeks - very fine people, some of them. They make excellent scribes."

"No, they're from outside Massilia," Vorenus tried to explain, but Anthony interrupted him, talking over him.

"Massilia is Greek, it just happens to be in Gaul. It's an independent Greek colony. For now."

"I know that," Vorenus said, forgetting to add the 'sir' this time. Anthony didn't correct his mistake, and Vorenus politely ignored the 'for now'. Everyone knew that Massilia was wealthy and located in an excellent spot for trade - so far they'd managed to keep the Romans at arm's length, but the province of Transalpine Gaul now surrounded them on all sides. That was all politics and strategy, not Vorenus' concern at the moment.

"All right, tell me more about this girl," Anthony said at last, crossing the tent and helping himself to some of the centurion's wine. He took a sip and made a face - evidently not up to his standards. "I hope this swill isn't her family's doing - I'd be inclined to warn you off marrying anyone who thinks this is worth drinking."

"I wasn't planning to marry my centurion, no," Vorenus said, straight-faced. Anthony shot him a look and then burst out laughing.

"You're not so bad, Legionary Lucius Vorenus. Come, have a drink of this musty horsepiss with me and tell me about your beloved."

Vorenus was relatively sure that sitting down and having a drink with a legate was not appropriate for someone of his station. Then again, so was saying no to him. He sat down and drank the wine. It was indeed disgusting, but he wasn't about to complain. He'd had far worse. "Well, sir," he began, "Niobe is a good and virtuous girl. Hardworking, sensible, pious..."

"You make her sound dull as dishwater," Anthony said. "Mind you, that's not a bad quality in a wife. You don't want her having fun behind your back."

"She wouldn't do such a thing," Vorenus protested. "Not if we were married."

"Even if you were stationed in, oh, Numidia or Britannia? It's all well and good when you're in a nice civilized province like Transalpine Gaul, fighting the occasional pirates and bandits and Gaulish raiders, but it won't stay this quiet forever. You could be sent anywhere in the Empire, to the edges of the earth."

"I'd make sure she went back to Rome if that happened," Vorenus said. "She'd be safe there. If we were married, she'd be a proper Roman wife."

"That's true enough," Anthony agreed. "And any children you had would be Romans as well."

"Yes, sir. I want to do the right thing by any children we'd have."

"She's not pregnant already, is she?" Anthony asked, looking suspicious. 

"No!" Aghast, Vorenus blushed, the redness showing strongly beneath his pale skin. "I haven't so much as touched her!"

"All right, settle down," Anthony said soothingly. "I didn't mean to offend your delicate sensibilities. There's something to be said for testing the waters before you dive in, though - it's a bit late once you're submerged to complain that it's cold."

"She's not... c-cold," Vorenus stammered, sipping some more of the terrible wine to hide his embarrassment. "At least, I don't think she'd be. Sometimes she looks at me and it's like there's a... a lightning bolt that passes between us, even from across the room."

"Well, you certainly seem to have been struck," said Anthony. "I'd wager this is your first time?"

"Yes, well, that is, technically..." Vorenus tripped over his words. It was hard enough to admit such things to his friends, let alone say them aloud to a legate he'd only just met, and who was currently pouring him another cup of terrible wine. "I haven't been with a woman before," he settled on at last.

"Oh," Anthony said. "You're a virgin?" He seemed genuinely surprised, and a little... something else. Sympathetic? Amused? Wistful? "That's unexpected, a handsome young man like you."

"There was never anyone I had... appropriate feelings for," Vorenus said, a little defensively. 

"Inappropriate feelings work just as well," Anthony said with a smile. "Often better, in fact." 

"I'm not going to bring shame on my family by siring bastards or spreading the pox," said Vorenus. "If I'm not permitted to marry Niobe, I'll just remain chaste instead."

"Well, that's a very noble goal," Anthony told him, patting him on the knee. They were sitting very close together, and both more than a little tipsy. "And perhaps easier to swear to when you're eighteen. Many of the men take women from among the locals wherever the legions are stationed. As long as it doesn't interfere with their orders, everyone turns a blind eye, even Caesar. You might see things differently when you're older - more realistically. You can be with your girl, or some other girl, and it can be a comfortable enough life."

"What about you, sir?" Vorenus asked pointedly. "Are you married, or do you expect you'll have a girl in camp and make do that way?"

"Why not both?" Anthony said with a shrug. "I've got a wife and children back in Rome but if I'm to be stationed here for years on end, I hardly expect to do so without a little companionship - male or female."

Vorenus shouldn't have been surprised, but he still felt a hint of disdain for his superior officer. He was eighteen and self-righteous in his virtue, while Anthony was already jaded and cynical beyond his years. "Isn't that disrespectful to your wife?" He probably wouldn't have dared ask if he hadn't already had two cups of wine, but the drink was potent, although sour.

Fortunately Anthony didn't seem to be offended, and leaned over to refill his cup. "Fadia's a good wife and mother to our children - a freedman's daughter, not rich or high-born, but beautiful. I married her because of that lightning bolt you spoke of before. I saw her and was struck blind for a time. But lighting is gone in a flash, and eventually your vision returns. For her part, she wouldn't expect me not to look at anyone else while I'm away, as long as I don't bring them home and parade them in front of her. _That_ would be disrespecting her. What happens in camp doesn't mean I don't care for her, but a man has needs, after all."

Vorenus puzzled over that for a moment. Anthony seemed to genuinely care for his wife, even if his initial passion for her might have waned, and yet he spoke openly of having relations with other women, other men - even with his wife's knowledge! It was hard for him to reconcile, although he supposed things were different for men of Anthony's station in life. What must it be like to have such freedom? "I suppose that's your business, sir," he said at last. "For my part, I just want the opportunity to have what you have. A good wife and mother to our children," he clarified quickly.

"I can appreciate that," Anthony said, putting his arm companionably around Vorenus' shoulders. "And I can make that happen for you and your Niobe." Vorenus' heart leapt with excitement, but Anthony continued. "However, I think it would be a shame if you went your marriage bed so... inexperienced. Especially if once you're married you intend to remain unswervingly faithful."

Vorenus registered slowly what he was suggesting. He should have recoiled, but somehow the thought wasn't as awful as it should have been. The wine no doubt helped, and the anticipation of his upcoming wedding. But he wanted to know something first. "Is this a... a quid pro quo?"

"I didn't say that," Anthony murmured. He was very close now to Vorenus' ear, his lips practically touching it. "It's not quid pro quo if we both want the quid. And I think you do want this," he added, his hand venturing up beneath Vorenus' tunic. "You can tell me if I'm wrong." He did not seem disappointed by what he found there, and if he was honest with himself, Vorenus didn't mind either. 

He'd imagined many times what it would feel like for someone else to touch his manhood, but he hadn't considered that it might be an attractive young legate who might ply him with (terrible) wine in an effort to seduce him. He turned his head slightly when Anthony moved to kiss him, so the other man's lips grazed against the side of his chin, but didn't resist when he tugged him to the floor. They landed in an awkward tangle, but soon Anthony had them straightened out, tunics pushed up around their waists, cock next to aching cock. 

Vorenus wasn't entirely sure what men did together - he had a vague impression that it might involve asses, but that seemed impossible - but Anthony was certainly happy to demonstrate some of the available options. He took Vorenus' cock in his hand, holding it pressed against his own, and guided him to rock his hips, slowly at first. The smell of wine was strong on his breath when he gasped as Vorenus shyly reached down to rub him in return. A few more clumsy, heated fumbles and Vorenus was gasping as well, unable to restrain himself. His hips bucked more wildly and before too long he was coming all over Anthony's hand. He watched with a mix of disgust and arousal as the legate lifted his palm to his lips and licked it clean.

He guided him to roll onto his side then, and for a moment Vorenus was worried about what might come next, but Anthony just eased his cock between his legs and thrust a few times. He didn't mind that, it didn't hurt at least, and once Anthony got going it even felt all right. It was over quickly, though, and soon his seed was smeared between Vorenus' thighs. He handed Vorenus a cloth to clean himself off, standing up and straightening his tunic. 

"Is that all?" Vorenus asked, a little dumbfounded, as he got back to his feet. "So... you'll give me the dispensation?"

Anthony was already returning to his desk, and sitting down to write something on a piece of parchment. "I'm doing so as we speak," he said, jotting down some words. "And I trust that when all your fellow soldiers ask how you managed to get it out of me, you won't tell them."

"I... no, sir, I won't," Vorenus said, blushing furiously. He took the parchment and stood up tall, looking straight ahead, waiting to be dismissed.

"As to whether that's all," Anthony continued, looking up at him, "that's entirely up to you. You can go now - but you can come back anytime, if that girl of yours turns you down." And he gave Vorenus a wink as he sent him on his way, glad and relieved and extremely confused.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [naryrising](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/naryrising) if you want to ask questions, make requests, or chat!


End file.
